Eggman soon to be spouse, parent

STOCKTON - By the end of the year, Assemblywoman Susan Eggman expects to be a spouse and a parent.

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By Kevin Parrish

recordnet.com

By Kevin Parrish

Posted Jun. 29, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By Kevin Parrish

Posted Jun. 29, 2013 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

STOCKTON - By the end of the year, Assemblywoman Susan Eggman expects to be a spouse and a parent.

Tears of joy and concern mingled Friday as she celebrated the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' swift action to lift California's ban on same-sex marriages.

"I think this is historic, a turning point in American history," said Eggman, D-Stockton, who was elected to the Assembly in November after serving on the Stockton City Council.

"It is so significant for the Supreme Court to recognize that it is unjust to treat people different solely based on who they are."

Eggman's elation is tempered by an unfolding illness within her family.

The legislator's partner of 31 years is Renee Hall, who has a sister facing terminal cancer. Family members have turned to Eggman and Hall to raise their 5-year-old niece.

"My partner's family is very Republican, very conservative and very Pentecostal, and when we talked about who would raise this child, they looked to nobody but us as the people who were the most stable, who were the most able to provide a loving home, that we would do that," Eggman said, "and we, of course, will."

Eggman and Hall are caring for the niece in their Victory Park neighborhood home this weekend and plan to take her today to the DeltaFusion puppet pageant.

The two women, both 52, met while serving in the U.S. military. They've been together ever since.

"We've waited 31 years for this," said Eggman. "A wedding is very personal, as it is with anybody, and we want to plan something that reflects our lifetime together. We want to plan a wedding befitting a couple who has lived and loved together for 31 years."

She said the federal court decisions "have been deeply emotional."

Eggman has already heard from fellow lawmakers that her wedding to Hall should be in Sacramento inside the state Capitol. She is undecided but said the wedding would not be for show, but "for love."

"I'm a proud third-generation Californian, and marriage is legal in my state," Eggman said, overjoyed just to hear herself say those words.

"So as we are planning a wedding, we are planning a funeral. I could talk forever or just let the tears come down my face."